NY Mets: 4 best Michael Conforto moments in his career

Michael Conforto’s best Mets moments #3: Juggling catch vs. Orioles 9/10/20

This is another one of Conforto’s web gems that saved a game.

Chasen Shreve started the top of the 6th inning and got Cedric Mullins to pop out to Dom Smith at first base. Luis Rojas then brought in Jared Hughes to face the upcoming right-handed hitters. It looked like a good move at first, as Jose Iglesias lined out to Jeff McNeil in left field for the second out.

Then, Hughes lost control of the strike zone. He didn’t throw a single strike to Renato Nunez, walking him on four pitches. He then hit DJ Stewart on a 2-2 pitch, and then he hit Ryan Mountcastle on a 3-2 pitch. Rojas made another call to the bullpen, opting for lefty Justin Wilson to face Rio Ruiz with the bases loaded.

Ruiz got a front-door cutter low and in and drove it deep to right-center. Conforto sprinted straight back to the 370 sign by the bullpen bench. He leaped from the edge of the warning track, stuck out his arm, and snowconed the ball. As he landed, the ball started to roll out of his glove, but he secured it to insure the out before stopping himself in front of the fence.

Wilson put his arms up in shock. Ruiz put his hands on his head in disbelief as he approached second base. Smith was looking around the ballpark with his jaw wide open.

Statcast tells us that Conforto had only 4.9 seconds to cover the 78 feet from his starting position to the spot where he caught the ball. That ball only had a 20% catch probability, and he pulled it off to save three runs. The Mets would eventually win the game 7-6.

Michael Conforto’s best Mets moments #2: Walk-off vs. Nationals on 8/9/19

Anytime Sean Doolittle takes the mound, Mets fans are in for something special.

First, some background. In the top of the 9th inning, the Mets were down 5-3. Luis Avilan then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Trea Turner to score from third and extend the Nationals’ lead. Avilan then struck out Matt Adams, stranding Adam Eaton on third.

J.D. Davis led off the bottom of the 9th with a double to left field. Wilson Ramos followed with a single to center, advancing Davis to third. Todd Frazier came up next and launched a moonshot of a homer down the left field line to send the Citi Field crowd into hysterics and tie the game at six.

After a mound visit, Joe Panik hit a single to center. Juan Lagares tried to bunt him to second, but wound up reaching first as Anthony Rendon threw to second for the forceout. McNeil flew out to left before Amed Rosario hit a single to give the Mets runners at first and second.

Conforto came up and worked a 2-2 count before getting a fastball middle-in. He turned on it, driving it over Eaton’s head to send Lagares home with the winning run. The team mobbed Conforto in shallow center field, showering him in water and ripping off his jersey. This was the Mets’ seventh win in a row, during a stretch where they won 14 out of 15.

Michael Conforto’s best Mets moments #1: World Series homers 10/31/15

Welcome to the show, Scooter.

Conforto, then a 22-year-old rookie, had only played 56 regular season games and another 10 in the postseason. He had a good rookie season, but little did he know, his biggest moment would come in game four of the World Series.

He led off the bottom of the third inning against Chris Young. The soft-tossing righty threw an 87 mph fastball right down the middle and belt high. Conforto yanked it down the right field line, keeping it just inside the foul pole, and depositing that ball about halfway up the then Pepsi Porch. He rounded the bases, clapping and screaming after touching home. Mets up 1-0.

The lefty came up again in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Mets leading 2-1. This time, he was facing hard-throwing southpaw Danny Duffy. If there was one knock on Conforto’s rookie season, it’s that he struggled against lefties. In a small sample size, only 14 at-bats, he only hit .214 with a .481 OPS.

Conforto worked a 2-2 count before Duffy threw an 83 mph slider low in the middle of the zone. He was fooled, but he kept his front shoulder in and was able to drive the ball out to right-center off the roof of the Mets bullpen. Conforto screamed and fist pumped on his way to second base as Citi Field erupted for the second time that night.

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The Mets would go on to lose the game, but Conforto shined under the brightest lights in baseball. I hope the Mets are able to keep Conforto so we get more moments like this from him.